The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-06-22
Sherman's March to the Sea.

We are now to describe the most
original and most dazzling movement
of the war, of which history contains
no similar example, except that of
Cortez burning his ships. 1t was a
bold and hazardous undertaking in
which no backward step was possible.
Hoods audacious attempt to lure Sher-
man out of Georgia resulted, as we
have seen, in his own destruction. He
had thrown himself on the Union gen.
erals communications and caused him
to turn for an instant, but for scarce
longer time. He had taken several of
the posts along that line, but had been
repulsed from Allatoona Pass by the
brave General Corse, who held the
fort against vastly superior force,
thus saving an enormous amount of
supplies and giving Hood the first
check in his aggressive campaign.
Sherman followed Hood as far back as
on his westward way, and then left him
to be taken care of by General Thomas.
He now stripped for the great march,
whose final objective was Richmond, a
thousand miles away. The sick and
wounded, the non-combatants, the ma
chinery, extra baggage, tents, wagons,
artillery ammunition, stores, every per-
son and everything not needed in the
proposed campaign were sent back to
Chattanooga. He reduced his army to
a simple marching and tighting-ma-
chine. Every impeachment was sent
to the rear. Nor did the general ask
the commonest soldier to put up with
worse fare and worse lodging than he
reserved for himself A tent he must
have for his maps and papers, but both
he and his staff slept in blankets on the
ground and fed on bareback. Some
rations were taken in a small wagon
train, but the army was expected to
live on the country. The artillery was
reduced to sixty-five guns, and but two
hundred rounds of ammunition were
carried for musket and gun. His army
numbered sixty thousand fighting men,
the elite of the western army, full of
that undoubting faith in their general
which the French army felt for Ma
poleon and the British fleet for Nelson.
When he ordered things to be done
which they could not understand they
merely said: "Well, Sherman can't
make mistake; where he puts us we
are going in, and we are dead sure to
whip the rebs."
On the 10Th of November, 1864, COM
muncation with the rear was broken,
the foundries, machine-shops and fac
tories at Rome were burned, and a
parting goodbye message was sent to
Thomas that all was well. On the 14th
the army was concentrated at Atlanta,
and on the 10th the movement began,
all the works at Atlanta-its mills, de-
pots shops and foundries-being burned
and its defences destroyed.
Then the great army, severed from
its base, became a gigantic moving
column, with new piece of history to
make for itself. 1t might be a great
triumphal march, it might be tragedy
of ruin, but in either case there was
sure to be a story in which the human
element of interest would be very great.
What were they going to do? One
thing was clear. They were going to
defy all military rules, and at mortal
risk enlarge mems knowledge of the
art of war. Nothing like this of fling
ing an army of sixty thousand men
from its base into an unknown field of
operations had ever been seen before.
A movable column is at best perilous
undertaking, even when formed on a
small scale. Military art has generally
condemned all such movements. Sher-
man had no supplies to fall back on.
Between him and the sea lay three hum
dred miles of savanna, swamp and sand.
"A hundred water courses crossed his
path. He would have roads to make,